


Traces

by Bruguer



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love, Romance, Strangers to Lovers, don’t know how yo tag, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25923580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bruguer/pseuds/Bruguer
Summary: Getting to know a person is one of the best things in life, but when that person is the love of your life it becomes a unique experience.I suck at summaries, story is way better.
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Comments: 17
Kudos: 49





	Traces

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!  
> I’m new to all of this, but lately I’ve read amazing fanfics from this fandom (truly amazing) and I love to write, so I thought why not.
> 
> I’m from México and I only know english from school so there’s gonna be like a hundred grammatical errors, I apologize for that.
> 
> There is a little triguer warning at the beggining of the story, it’s about domestic violence so if you aren’t comfortable with that you can skip it. Don’t worry I’ll let you know.
> 
> I think the story turned out pretty good, I hope you like it.
> 
> Oh and I don’t own any of the characters in this story.

TRACES 

“I’ll be there when you arrive, the sight of you will prove to me I’m still alive, and when you take me in your arms I know it’s gonna mean so much tonight”

  
He has always been fascinated by her body, every inch of it, every birthmark, mole, scar he knew by heart.   
Raquel was even sure that he knew the exact number of marks she had in her body although he wouldn’t admit it out loud. 

She wasn’t sure why and it’s not like she had a problem with it or was insecure with her body. It's just that none of her lovers have been like that and she found it rather intriguing.   
But it made sense, Sergio was a curious man, he loves to be aware of every detail of everything, he has a passion about it, and it seemed that this applies to her. 

Raquel was her biggest enigma and he was hers.

Ever since their first time in the hangar, when they were hiding behind false names and pronouns of work. He was amazed if that was the right word, about two birthmarks on her right chest. Having stared at them for longer than usual Raquel wondered if maybe he didn’t like them or thought that their pink color didn’t match her golden skin. Her doubts disappeared seconds later when he began to kiss them tenderly whispering against her skin.

“You’re gorgeous”

That brought a shade of red to her cheeks and a shy smile to her face.   
It had been a long time since she felt that tingling on her stomach. 

Since then he would spend hours tracing his fingers through every spot of her body when they laid naked on their bed, asking her stories about how she got certain scars and holding her tightly when he asked about ones that hold a rather ugly memory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a windy early morning in Palawan, one of her favorites because those were the ones where she could cuddle with a sleepy Sergio trying to warm them both from the unusual breeze of the tropical island. 

Everyone in the house remained sound asleep enjoying the last bits of rest, even the cat laid lazy at the edge of the bed.

“You’re up early” 

Sergio murmured against her hair when she cuddled closer, resting her head in the crook of his neck, she didn’t say a thing trying to give him the hint that she wanted it to lay in silence with him. He understood and closed his eyes again enjoying the moment with her.

Lately there weren’t much like this.

Paula was starting to get comfortable with Sergio and that meant she was always bursting in their room in the morning or quietly waking up Sergio in the night searching for his comfort after a bad dream, staying with them the rest of the night.

She was always requiring their attention and even though they both loved their new dynamic as a true family they couldn’t deny that they missed their alone time. 

And it wasn’t just Paula, life was starting to get in the way for both of them, Sergio would be busy working or reading in his office while Raquel have found a job as a teacher in Paula’s school and between making arrangements in town, taking care of paula and marivi, time began to fly.   
Truth be told they have enough money to forget about everything and just enjoy their island, but neither were like that, they needed movement, distractions, people, this last one Raquel more than Sergio.

Although they always make sure to spend a day alone in the boat every two weeks after all the chaos of the days. 

They were both so passionate about each other and on several occasions behaved like teenagers because between Sergio’s stolen one and Raquel’s wild soul they couldn’t help each other.  
There was a true love there and it needed to be developed, or it would end up burning them.  


Sergio’s fingers made busy with a scar on her left shoulder, it was the shape of a cross. So small that could only be perceived up close.

“How did you get this?”

“Mhmm” 

“The scar”, he half whispered trying to preserve the magic of the quiet moment.

“I tripped and fell into a pool when I was 17, I hit my shoulder with the edge”, She explained 

“Did it hurt?” 

“I don’t remember, but if it did I probably didn’t care, I was kinda wasted” 

“You tend to be a little clumsy when you drink, don’t you?”  
He teased her, remembering another story when she broke her ankle falling from a table in a nightclub.

“Well I used to enjoy life, but now you get worried the second a touch a bit of alcohol”, she half joked.

“There’s a good explanation for that” 

“Oh really, which one?” 

He began to tell her the reason and she made herself comfortable resting her head in the hand on his chest, winking her eye at him.

“The first time I saw you drunk, we broke the hammock when you got a little too handsy, and the kid spent days crying blaming us for destroying the cat’s favorite spot. And on your birthday you got into the ocean naked with your mother”

“I asked you to try it with me first, it had always been a dream of mine, but you’re to boring, so I had to go with my mom”

“It was awful I didn’t know how to get you both out without dying of shame” 

Raquel began to laugh at the memory, it had been a good day.   
Sergio gave her a dirty look that didn’t last long, her smile was soon reflected in his own. 

“And this one?”, He asked pointing at a little one she had behind her ear.

Silence filled the air when her laugh burned down and her gaze stayed fixed on the wall.

TW!

“Alberto threw a glass at me” 

He wanted to punch himself in the face for being so stupid and ruining the beautiful moment.  
He wanted to take it back, her laugh had sounded so gorgeous remembering the great birthday and now he saw the beginning of tears forming at the edges of her eyes.   
He felt guilty for that.

“I’m sorry for asking”

“It’s fine, It wasn’t a good day”, She said in a low tone sitting cross legged in front of him, he did the same supporting his back on the head of the bed. 

He wanted to say something, anything to make her feel better but she was his weak spot. He knew everything, except what to say when he saw her suffer.

His heart aches for her and he always finds himself at a loss for words.  
So he only wiped the tear that streamed down her cheek. She gave him a weak smile and began to tell him the story.

Sergio wanted to say that she didn’t need to tell him, but that’s just how she was with him.  
Sergio brought a sense of comfort and trust to her. He was kind of like her journal where she put all of her feelings, memories and frustrations even the ones that had to do with him. She found him comforting.   
He was a good listener and having lived a life where not many people believed her when it came to her past with Alberto, he was a breath of fresh air when it came to things like this since the beginning. 

“He got mad at me because I accepted an invitation with some colleagues of work, I fucking knew it would make him mad but it was just after the first time he hit me and I wanted to prove to myself that he was still my husband, that the reason why he did that had a good explanation, that he wouldn’t do it again, specially because he have been so sweet with me after that, our marriage was good really, and I felt so bad for Paula, I wanted to make it work” 

His heart broke for her. He couldn’t believe that even after what he had done to her she was worried about her daughter, trying her best to give her a good childhood without a broken family. 

He had never met someone with such a big heart, always putting others in front of her, making sure people around her were happy.   
Even if it meant sacrificing her own happiness. 

“So I came home that night and told him about the dinner, he got so mad Sergio, saying that I was cheating on him and that he didn’t deserve someone like me, I got mad myself and began to yell at him, bad mistake because next thing I knew a glass was flying directly at me, it almost hit my face but I was able to turn around at the last second. he didn’t even mention it after, just like it never happen” 

That’s when she broke down and fell to his chest crying her heart out. 

Those were bad days and although she has moved on from them, she kept moments like those for herself, afraid of showing weakness or risking herself to not be trusted by others, it never happened with him. He always believed her. 

In fact she was able to see that she felt the memory with her, experimenting the same emotions trying to understand her better, and her heart broke cause he would always end up crying with her. 

No one knew this about him because he was this character that closed up to the world, always making sure that his brain ruled his actions, burying his heart and denying himself the ability to feel. 

But with her it was different, everything was different with her.

He showed her a part of him that only a few were able to see, this man with a huge heart, empathic and not afraid to feel.

  
She calmed down moments later in his arms, but he didn’t want to let go of her just yet.  
The doorknob of their bedroom began to move and Paula ran to their bed realizing they were both already awake. She frowned at her mom when she saw her red eyes caused by the tears.

“What’s wrong mom?”

“Nothing sweetheart, I just remember something that make me sad” 

“The other day I saw this movie with grandma about emotions and memories, and it said that every single one of them forge our character, without them we wouldn’t be who we are, they make us grow mom, just like milk, and something better always comes after”, she finished smiling at both adults and grabbing the cat to play with her.

Raquel stayed speechless, Paula never stopped to amaze her, she was so smart and unlike Sérgio, she always knew what to say.

TW done

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To be honest he was angry at first with those scars trying to erase them of her.   
He didn’t need to be reminded of the way Alberto had hurted her, but on the other hand he wasn’t going to give him the benefit of still forming part of her.   
So he began to see them as a reminder of how strong Raquel was, how she got out of that misery by herself.

She was such a tough woman, having done an amazing job with her daughter and being the best at her job in the police. 

He truly admired her and those scars on her body were just a reminder of how lucky he was to have her.

  
And that’s how it’s always been, he began to learn about her through her marks.  
Founding new ones everyday, some of them in very interesting places when they got creative in bed. 

He truly believed that bodies hold our history and that you could learn a lot about a person by that. 

That’s the beauty of intimacy and also the reason why we don’t allow everyone to see through us.   
Sharing the deepest secrets of our soul was hard, mostly because it was even harder to found someone to share them with.  
People tend to take advantage of that knowledge, always thinking about themselves and using it to their benefit only.   
It’s a fear many people share, especially nowadays. 

Sergio and Raquel were grateful everyday because they were that kind of person to each other, the one that you let inside your mind, heart and soul.

They didn’t believe in soulmates but if they have to put it into words “soulmate” was the right one. 

Although it was funny because even though they could share anything, they were grownups and thanks to each of their pasts both of them were individualists. They were used to carrying demons on their back by themselves and working alone.   
For a long time they needed to be that person for their own selves so they were forced to learn to live alone, picking up habits and keeping things to themselves, which ultimately was a good thing because everyone is their own person and we don’t need to depend on others. 

But that personality was often the reason they disagree on things. They would bicker and fight with each other and sometimes that was also the reason they doubted their ability to be together. 

Sergio’s fascination with her marks also included ones that weren’t permanent and he held a special place for an specific one that tended to appear when they had disagreements, which was a huge problem for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She have had enough, it was the second time this week and Raquel wouldn’t let Sergio get away with this, she was so angry and she knew it was a ridiculous thing to be mad about but she couldn’t help it.

“WHAT THE FUCK SERGIO!!”, “Have you been paying any attention to me at all ?!?!” 

He was taken aback by the tone of her voice, leaving his book aside to look directly at her.   
She was standing in front of him, arms crossed in front of her chest, her face red of anger and the cute vein in her forehead made its appearance.   
Fuck, he thought.

“What did I do?”, He asked sincerely, raising his hands in the air making a sign of innocence.

“OH DON’T PLAY FOOL WITH ME”

Her shoulders were so tense that he seriously thought he had made something really bad.

“Bu...”

“I get that you used to live alone and that you’re not used to sharing space with others, but this is your fucking life now, the one you choose when you left the clues on the postcards, I told you I came with family included and you say it was okay, so you knew what you were getting into, you don’t get to be a lonely wolf around us, molding us to your necessities and trying to rule our lives at your own way. If you are not ready for that then I need to leave this place and leave you alone so you could rule the house at your taste. Is that what you want?” 

She finished breathless. 

Sergio stayed frozen trying to digest everything she have said, but the fucking vein was still there and he couldn’t focus, her words weren’t making sense to him and that only brought more anger to Raquel.

“Are you just gonna stand there? You don’t even have anything to say” 

Her last line made the vein more notorious and he found himself frozen, staring at it.

“Well since you don’t even care, I guess I’m just going to take my mom and daughter and leave you here alone, would that make you happy?”, she asked one last time.

When she didn’t get an answer she stormed out the room closing the door behind her with a loud toud.   
The sound brought him back to reality, he closed his eyes a couple times before taking a few breaths and finally leaving the room looking for her.

  
He found her sitting on the sofa looking at the last bits of sun rays of the day. 

He approached her in a slow pace, afraid to disturb her although he have done it already, her shoulders were not that tensed anymore which was a good sign, but he knew she was still mad.  
It’s just that he really couldn’t help it, that vein drove him crazy and he couldn’t think clearly when he saw it.

He had made a huge mistake making her think that he wasn’t paying attention to her and worst of all she had left the room thinking he didn’t want to live with her anymore. 

Where did she even get that idea? She and her family were the most precious thing that ever happened to him even though he didn’t know how to express it to her.

“I’m sorry”

He said, finally reaching her, sitting down next to her as he grabbed her right hand with his own. He was relieved when she didn’t pull it back, instead she turned around to face him, keeping their joined hands in her lap.

“Do you really want us to leave?”

“What? No of course not I’ll be miserable without you” 

“Then why didn’t you say that, when I asked you twice back there? Look I know you're not used to being around people but...” 

“Hey hey stop”, he cut her with a sweet tone before she could finish.

“that’s not the reason I didn’t answer you”

“Then what was it?” 

He blushed a little but continued sincerely.

“It’s just that you burst into the room all mad and the vein in your forehead was twitching and you always look so sexy with it, I just couldn’t focus, sorry” 

He turned his head to the ocean not wanting to show her the shame he was feeling. 

Damn he felt like a horny high school kid not able to focus on anything because he was too busy looking at girls.

“You’ve got to be kidding me Sergio, I was being serious”

“I know I’m truly sorry, it’s just that you drive me crazy girl” 

There they were again, the fucking teenage hormones speaking.  
She gave him a cute smile and slapped his chest playfully.

“Why were you even mad anyways?”, he asked.

“You changed the Van Morrison song”

“What?”

“I was cooking dinner and you came and changed the song without even asking, I was enjoying it and you just changed it because you found it annoying or I don’t know, and on Wednesday you turn off the radio while I was dancing to one of their songs, and I know, I know I shouldn’t be so mad about it but you tend to have this habits of doing things your own way without worrying about others, it’s kind of annoying you know”

“I get it okay, and I’m sorry I don’t even realize when I do things like that, I guess is a force of habit, having been alone for so many years I picked them but your right, it’s been almost two years since you got here and I should be aware of things like that, next time tell me I swear I’ll try my best to fix it” 

“Thank you”, she said before approaching him to kiss his lips tenderly.

The kiss began to heat up quickly and when Raquel brought her legs on each side of his knees straddling him to kiss him more deeply he felt a burning feeling between his legs.

“Where’s Paula?”

He asked against her lips, keeping his hands at the edge of her dress, making sure they were alone before starting to slide them a little bit further.

“In her friend’s house, she’s going to spend the night” 

“And your mom?”

“She went for her night walk with Mich” She said.

Sérgio caught her bottom lip between his, kissing her slowly, his fingers lost inside her dress.

“You my, my brown eyed girl”, he whispered in her ear kissing the spot behind it sending shivers down her spine.

“So you do know the lyrics of their songs?” 

“Well you’re always singing that song but I really like it, I wasn’t lying when I said that I didn’t realize when I change the songs”

The music on the radio was still playing in the back and when one of Raquel’s favorite songs began to play, she asked him if he would dance with her. Her eyes were so hopeful that he couldn’t say no to her if he wanted it to, which actually he didn’t.

He wanted to dance with her.

He stood up with her legs wrapped around his waist, letting her down carefully on the ground seconds later.

They held each other tightly moving to the rhythm of the song. So close that their breaths mixed together.

Y te lo digo a los gritos   
y te ríes y me tomas por un loco atrevido  
pues no sabes cuanto tiempo en mis sueños has vivido   
ni sospechas cuando te nombre

Yo, yo no me doy por vencido  
yo quiero un mundo contigo  
Juro que vale la pena  
Esperar y esperar y esperar  
Un suspiro,  
Una señal del destino   
No me canso, no me rindo  
No me doy por vencido 

Tengo una flor de bolsillo  
Marchita de buscar   
Una mujer que me quiera   
Y reciba su perfume  
Hasta atraer la primavera   
Y me enseñe lo que no aprendí   
De la vida   
Que brilla más cada día   
Porque estoy tan solo a un paso  
De ganarme la alegría 

“Porque el corazón levanta una tormenta enfurecida, desde aquel momento en que te vi...”, she began to sing softly to him.

He has always told her that she had a beautiful voice that calms him down.   
And ultimately she could sense he was worried about something, she blamed it on a call he got the other day saying that he needed to travel to Thailand next week to meet with an old friend.  
Raquel knew there was something more behind that journey but she hasn't mentioned anything yet.

She kept singing the lyrics in his ears, their bodies close as they danced through the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She has two tattoos, the first one was a Lotus blossom, she got it with her mom and sister when her father passed away.  
It has a beautiful meaning.

Lotus flowers represent the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world. The perfect description of Raquel if you ask him. 

She loves that she and her mom shared the same tattoo.   
She have always been a mommy’s girl and Paula was exactly the same with her, he would sometimes feel left out when he caught them laughing at something asking them about it and only getting Paula’s answer “it’s a girl thing”

They have such a beautiful daughter and mother connection.

Paula knew that her mother would do anything for her and she gave the best advice when it came to everything.  
She saw a smart and strong woman in her mom and she love that sometimes she could see some vulnerability in her. Not weakness, there wasn’t an inch of weakness in her bones, but she could sense vulnerability when it came to her mom, which was a good thing because it make her human. She wouldn’t like a robot mom, always smiling and doing everything to satisfy her, her mom wasn’t afraid to show her emotions.

Paula on the other hand never ceased to amaze her, she have done it since she a was a little baby.

She was such a generous kid, kind and with strong opinions about everything.  
She had a thing with negotiation, just like her mom, and it’s not like she only uses it to get away with things, but she always make sure all points of views were set on the table so everything is fair, either it was a decision about dinner or a please to keep playing in the sand.   
She never begged she negotiated. 

They have always been there for each other, just the two of them, pulling strength for the other. And although their strong personalities and proud selfs would always make them fight, at the end of the day they were each other’s strength an biggest admiration.

  
The other tattoo was a swallow bird, she got it when she solved her first difficult case with the police. 

A little kid have been kidnaped by some dudes because of his parents money and they have only let her speak to him during the time of the kidnap.  
His name was Mario and he was the smartest kid she had ever met, he had been amazing at following her instructions and keeping calm.

There were certain days when he was a little bit more frighten because of something he have heard or a bad feeling in his chest and he once told her that the sound of the birds calmed him down in stressful situations, that her mom whistle to him when he was afraid of something.   
So she did that, she whistle to him every time she felt he was a little bit sketch out. 

The case have ultimately come down to a success and the kid had return to his family, but Raquel have felt so moved by everything that she got the tattoo as a reminder of the boy.  
She even began to use his advice, whistling softly to Paula when she cried as a baby. It would always work.

The first time sergio saw it was the first time they spend the night together at her house back in Madrid. He told her that it was a good addition to her body and that it was so beautiful.   
And she told him the he reminder her of that smart boy.

  
He loves both tattoos, and would have loved to see the one she almost got when she was 18.

She had a lover, this passionate and eccentric women, three years older than her.  
She met her at college and was immediately attracted by her free soul. 

Luna, that was her name, she taught her a lot about life and about herself as a person.

Raquel had grown in a conservative family and thanks to that she didn’t get access to many points of view, but Luna’s way to see life was wonderful and she found a role model in her.  
She changed her really, she became more confident with her body and with herself in general.   
She began to value herself more as a women and she started to persuid her dreams and ambitions.  
In fact she was the reason why she quit college and started at the academy of the police force.

Luna end up disappearing after a year, she wanted to see the world, be free. Before leaving she told Raquel that she needed to always remember her value as a person and as a woman, she didn’t belong to anybody.  
Luna had a tattoo under her breast and Raquel wanted to get the same one as a reminder of her first love, but she just never got it.

Raquel was proud about her tattoos, but she didn’t talk about them, in fact not many people knew that she has two, unintentionally they became her secret.  
She’s not the only one with secret tattoos 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nairobi’s voice kept repeating in his head as he walked through the corridors of the monastery.

“You should show us your tattoo someday professor”

How could they possibly found out? There was no way, unless.

His mind went back to reality, when Raquel pulled at his arm trying to find balance when she stumbled upon nothing in particular. A chuckle escaped her lips.

“Whoops, I almost fell” 

“Can you do it on your own?” He asked her.

“I think I can, but it’ll be nice if you carried me” She said releasing a hiccup, looking at him like a child.

How much did she drink?

“Grab my arm, we’re almost there”, he said. 

He did his beast trying to get them to their bedroom, without waking up the boys, who were the only ones sleeping. 

As soon as they entered the room Raquel went to sit on his desk, tossing the papers to the floor.

Her head began to spin all around the room as the high from the alcohol was still affecting her consciousness.  
What a night, She taught.

They have already spent 20 days in the monastery and all of them were so stressed about it, that when Tokyo asked her to a girl’s night, she couldn’t say no.  
She knew Sergio would be mad about it, especially because tomorrow was a busy day and they needed to be alert.   
It was one of his rules but to be honest he wasn’t really a role model when it came to following his own rules.

Raquel was a social person, but she had never been friends with girls like the ones in the band.

Tokyo was this haughty and proud woman, difficult to decipher and without a single fear in her body, well maybe of loneliness.   
When she has something in mind, nothing can stop her, she’s like a bullet that ignores air resistance.   
She’s loyal, she just doesn’t trust people easily.  
She’s smart and fun, so fun, she knows how to enjoy life, she actually reminds her of her young self, but she’s destructive, she doesn’t know when to stop.  
She’s a good person and Raquel has come to like her as a friend, although she’s more like her mother; always setting her boundaries and fixing her mistakes.

Monica was so sweet, and lovely, but a hint of hardness always radiated in her eyes.  
She connected with her easily since the beginning, maybe because both were new to this criminal life.  
They understood each other, and she was the first one to go when she had a problem that she couldn’t tell Sergio.   
She’s self centered and such a good mom. She was just truly a good person.

Lastly, She couldn’t quite describe Nairobi, maybe because no one could.  
No one knows what goes through her head; they just know that they love her.  
She has character, and she's one of the strongest women she's ever known, she had never seen her not stood up for what she believes and that’s impressive.  
She’s an amazing friend and has a talent for speech accompanied by a huge heart.  
She was the boss, always so focused and efficient. Always so present, always so powerful.

They were amazing, and they certainly knew how to party.

  
“Raquel, did you tell them?”

He asked her with a neutral tone, bringing her back to reality.  
He wasn't rude with his tone of voice but it certainly didn’t sound like Sergio. He sounded more like he was in class, like he was the professor.

She felt something twitch in her stomach.  
Her eyes began to scan him like it was the first time she saw him.  
He had beautiful eyes and the way he adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his hair captivated her.

“Raquel?” he asked, stepping a little closer.

“What?” She answered her gaze fixed on him.

“I asked you if you told them about it”

There it was again, the voice.  
She couldn’t point out what that voice was doing to her, but it felt good.  
She turned her head, trying to figure him out and he knew he was losing her again.

“Here drink this” He told her, handing her a glass of water.

She took a sip of it without taking her eyes off him, looking at him through the glass.

He rolled up his sleeves, and went to the bathroom to wet his hair, trying to keep himself calm.   
He was mad, mad about the girls throwing a party in the middle of a heist. They didn’t have time for that, and he was even angrier at Raquel, he left her in charge of the band while he took care of some things outside of the monastery, and instead of doing that, she threw a party, getting half of them drunk, including her.  
But his mind couldn’t focus on anything else than the fact that the girls knew his biggest secret.   
He was sure tomorrow will be filled with mockeries and questions about it. 

He returned to the bedroom and sat down at the edge of their bed. He was so tired.

“Told them about what exactly?” 

She finally said minutes later.

“About...my secret”

“You have a lot of those, which one are you talking about?” she said teasingly.

“About the tattoo Raquel, about my tattoo”

She began to laugh uncontrollably.

“Ohhh that thing” she said smiling widely at him.

He gave her a dark look and her smile was replaced with a little pout.

“I did, but they’re not going to remember”, she said softly.

“Of course they’re going to remember Raquel” 

“No they won’t”

The effect of the alcohol was finally wearing off of her.

“Even if they do, what’s the matter honey they’re your family they won’t mock you about it, everyone here has one, have you seen Helsinki’s bear? Yours is so much better” 

She said, winking her eye at him.

“Yeah but, I’m not supposed to have them, and you don’t know them they’re gonna be impossible tomorrow” 

He covered his face with his hands. Raquel wasn’t sure why he was making such a huge deal about it.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked getting off the desk and approaching him.

“I am” he simply said.

“Well... I’m sorry. Can I make it up to you?” 

She asked, settling herself between his legs.  
He looked up and when his eyes met hers he froze for a moment. 

“Can I?” 

She placed a kiss on his cheek and another one at the edge of his mouth.   
Maybe it was the remains of alcohol in her blood or the voice he used earlier but she was horny and the man in front of her could help her with that. 

His hands went to her hips and hers made busy playing with the buttons of his shirt.  
She kept placing tender kisses on his face, moving down to his neck.

God it was impossible to resist her. He thought, but it was so late and he was still mad at her.

“No, let’s just go to bed, it’s almost 4 a.m, you should take a shower it would help”, he said, pushing her back.

She felt kind of disappointed and she tried one last time.

“Would you like to join me?” she said biting her bottom lip softly.

“I’ve already shower, good night”

He simply answered and got into the covers. 

He heard the water falling from the shower and then felt Raquel getting in the bed next to him.

“I love your tattoo by the way”, she whispered in his ear before finally drifting off to sleep.

  
Raquel woke up with a huge headache and alone in bed. The sun rays were hitting directly at her face and she cursed at Sergio for choosing the only room without curtains.  
Sergio.  
He was so mad yesterday and he had every right to be, when did she even though getting drunk was a good idea. And on top of that she has told them his secret. 

She looked at the time-10:30a.m-Great, on top of it she was late.

As she approached the patio of the monastery where they usually ate breakfast she could hear the laughter of all the band members filling the air.

“Venga profesor, show it to us” Helsinki’s voice resonated above the laughs.

Sergio wanted to crawl under his seat and die. She loves her but she really fucked him up with this one.  
The women in question arrived at the table looking rather guilty, she didn’t dare to look at him.

“Oh Raquel, nice of you to show up, tell us what was your first reaction when you saw our dear professor’s tattoo” Palermo asked, noticing her presence.

“Well I loved it, it looks great on him” 

She said trying to make it better for him, but her words made him blush harder.

“Dude she’s a saint!” 

Denver said when he got his breath back after all that laughter.

“I just have one question, why THAT!?” Tokyo asked.

“Yeah with all the things you could’ve chosen, you choose that tattoo” Nairobi said.

“I thought I was gonna die okay, and Berlin make me do it” 

Sergio finally spoke out, he had had enough.

“But Berlin told me you choose it” 

Palermo said accusingly, making everyone turn to the profesor with raised eyebrows, well everyone except Raquel who had taken a seat in front of him.

He hid his face not finding an excuse for that and when everyone burst out laughing again he stood up and left. This was the most embarrassing moment of his life.

“Oh profesor, don’t leave we were having so much” 

Was the last thing he heard before disappearing inside the classroom. He hoped that maybe seeing him stormed off like that would shut them up during class, but when they came in and Denver looked at him up and down and winked, he knew none of that would be possible.

Raquel was actually feeling bad for him, the band was giving him such a hard time about it.   
She remembered a certain black item of clothing she had packed and an idea popped in her mind.  
Maybe tonight she could put it to a good use.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was really impressive how quickly they got to know each other. They have been dating for only two years and it was as if they had known each other for a lifetime.

All the time they spent in Palawan allowed them to really discover each other, because being honest the first time they met they were different people.

The Inspector and Salva.

Sergio and Raquel were a little different than those characters, and even though there was something true about them in those first five days, it didn't compare to who they really were.

They shared more differences than similarities, but it was fascinating how compatible they were.   
Every new thing they discovered about each other, whether it was ambitions, likes, dislikes, habits, stories or marks seemed surprising to them.

Getting to know a person is one of the best things in life and when that person is the love of your life it becomes a unique experience.

Of course, there are always things you don't like about the other. Like the way Sergio closes himself off to her when there is a problem and the way Raquel doesn't let him express his point of view when she’s angry, but it is these distinctive things about every human being that make them who they are. And frankly the amount of things they love about each other usually outweighs the things they hate about each other. Like the way Sergio is so kind and Raquel is so humble.

After two years they’ve come down to a number of conclusions.

She likes to sleep late, but she always wakes up in a bad mood.  
Loves the sea and the sand on her feet even though she complains about the itching after.  
She hates bras and people who walk slowly.  
She likes to read, especially poetry, it reminds him of his father.  
And she loves the way Sergio looks at her.

He can cook, but he prefers not to.  
Loves movies and the feeling of the sun's rays waking him up in the morning.  
He hates sand and people who scream when they talk.  
He knows 7 languages, but thinks it's not enough.  
He puts salt in the paella and loves the way Raquel looks at him.

Oh and he has this weird fascination about the details of her body.

Of course she has asked him about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smoke of her cigarette escaped his lips, combining the hot air with the cold of the night.   
She hasn't smoked in quite a while, except when she was nervous about something, and tonight was one of those times. Tomorrow would be “hour zero” and she was far from being prepared. 

What was she thinking?

She’s about to risk everything.  
Her life was finally settling down, it was confusing, complicated and different from anything she could have imagined, but it was better than her previous one because she was happy. And now she was about to risk it all. At least she had a good reason, she couldn't bear to see the injustice the police were acting with, and truth be told Sergio had opened her eyes to a rotten world to which she was part of.  
She couldn't just lie there in her hammock while the world around her acted that way.  
But she wanted it so badly, she wanted to be selfish for her, for her family and for Sergio.   
She didn't want to lose any of them, but here she was about to go into the lion's den.

“I thought you have moved on from that” 

A voice came in, forcing her to turn around and discover who dared to invade her moment alone.

Sergio.

She smirked at him and raised her cigarette in the air, not in the mood for one of his lessons about how smoking was bad for her.  
He was carrying a blanket and when she saw it, the cold ran down her body, she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t felt it until then, but it was the coldest night of the whole month they'd spent locked up in there.

“Aren’t you freezing?” 

He asked, covering her with the blanket and grabbing a chair to sit in front of her.

“I didn’t feel it until you arrive”, she answered 

They remained in silence for a long time, her gaze lost in the starry night and his focus on Raquel smoking.  
He hates that habit in people, but there was something about the way she would bring the cigarette to her lips and release the smoke a few seconds later that left him amazed.

“What’s going through your head?” 

He asked seeing her frown and the way her leg was shaking slightly against the floor.

“I don’t even know, everything just seems so surreal and I know I’m ready and we’re ready, but I’m scared Sergio”, she confessed sincerely locking her eyes with his.

“I am too, this isn’t like the last time” 

“I don’t wanna lose you”

She confessed, releasing a single tear which he wiped immediately.

“You won’t” 

He kept his hands caressing her cheeks softly. He was trying to be calm for her but if he was being honest, he has the same fear, losing her.

“You’re lying, the other day you said that there was less than 50% chance of us surviving”

“I know what I said, but you won’t lose me”, he told her in desperation.

“It’s just that I was miserable one year without you and these last two years have been the best of my life, I love the little family we have formed.  
And happiness has been taken away from me so many times that I'm afraid I won’t be able to find it again if I lose you”

More tears streamed down her face and his too.   
God they were a mess.

They had avoided that thought altogether because they knew it was possible and neither of them could stand it. Imagining that scenario would destroy them and they had to be 100% focused on the plan, they knew that if they thought about it too much it would drive them crazy, so they didn't do it, they didn't think about it, they didn't talk about it. That possibility did not exist.   
At least that's what they told themselves. At heart it was possible, very possible.

“Come here”

He told her, reaching his hand to her, and pulling at her wrist until she sat down on his lap. 

They embraced each other, holding on for their lives. They weren't going to admit it but none of them wanted to let go, they were terrified that maybe this would be the last time they hugged.  
Tears fell and spoken words emerged between them.

“It’ll be fine”, he whispered as a promise in her ear.

They stood like that for what felt like hours, until she noticed that Sergio’s eyes were focused on her wrist and his fingers brushed lightly through a scar she had there.  
She let out a chuckle into his neck.  
God this man.

“What’s the deal with you and my body?”

“Well.... I mean”, he blushed and pushed up his glasses.

“I don’t mean it in that way babe, you just seemed to be attracted to the weirdest details of me. And I’m not complaining I love the feeling of your fingertips running through my body and the way you look at me, but the other day you told me my wrinkle was pretty, what’s wrong with you?”

She began to play with the hairs of his beard resting her head in his shoulder, waiting curiously for his answer.  
He kissed her head.

“It’s like your map” 

“My map?” She asked.

“Yeah, is how I get to know you, you see everything is made of parts that form a total, and that total will be nothing without each one of the parts. You need to learn and understand each part to get the total. You’re the total and every single part of you helps me understand you, besides all of you is amazingly beautiful to me” 

She smiled against him.

“You’re talking about my body like a lesson about math” 

“You’re the best thing I love to learn about”, he said sincerely, looking down at her. 

They smiled at each other and he noticed the way she rubbed her hands trying to keep them warm.

“Here, let me”, he said, grabbing her hands.

He brought them into his mouth, releasing hot air, trying to warm them up.  
She gazes fixedly at each other talking with a language that only the two of them understood.

“Better?” He said planting a light kiss to each of her hands.

She only nodded her head and she couldn’t help another tear that escaped her eye. This was too much for her.

“Hey what’s wrong?” He asked worried.

“It’s just that this feels like a goodbye”

She said looking at him through her puffy eyes.

“It’s not Raquel”

“You promise?”

“I promise”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shakespeare 

That was the only thing running through her head. 

How could he? 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This plan was never meant to start.  
He had never told her about it because he said it was one of the drafts, that it wasn't a plan, that Shakespeare would never be used.

He lied to her, again.

Of course Raquel had opened the envelope one night to find out what it was about and discovered the real reason why she didn't want to tell him.

Sergio and his weird passion for tragedy had devised one last plan to get them out of the bank. And just like in all Shakespearean stories, love had to triumph even though it meant sacrificing both lovers.  
Only this time love would not triumph and only one of them would sacrifice himself so that the other would survive.

An act of love where love would not triumph

  
“Are you sure he said that?” 

Raquel asked, deeply hoping that it was a mistake and Tokyo heard wrong.

“Yes I’m sure” Tokyo answered.

“The professor never mentioned something like that, what does Shakespeare mean?” Monica asked the question everyone was holding.

All eyes turn to her for an answer, if someone knew the secret plan it would be her. The profesor trusted her the most.

“It means that...that we should continue with the same escape plan, but that someone out there is helping us and we have a better chance of getting out of this”  
She faked a smile.

“Well then let’s get out of this fucking place” Denver spoke and everyone hurried up not wanting to spend another damn minute in the bank.

They ignored the way Raquel stood in a corner with a lost look and the sound of something breaking inside of her.

  
The whole escape was like walking in a tightrope, one false step and it was done for them. All eyes were focused on the front, on the goal of getting out of this alive.

Her eyes couldn’t focus on that tough, on the front, she was constantly turning downward determined to fall and be with the one who had already fallen. The one that had fallen so that the rope on which they walked became thicker. 

Her legs couldn’t move because her actions were being ruled by her heart, she wouldn’t be able to do it, she couldn’t live without him.  
She wanted to fall so badly.

Why would you do this to me?

She screamed at the sky trying to understand, but no answer came.

She was about to give up, this didn’t make any sense, not when he wouldn’t be there at the end of the rope, receiving her with open arms and filling her with kisses until their air ran out, not when they couldn’t live the rest of their lives together anywhere around the world. Not when he wouldn’t be there.

She was about to really do it, falling from the tightrope, when she saw someone at the end of it.

Paula.

She couldn't do this to her daughter, she had already kidnaped her from her father, forcing her to move all around the world and putting her life at danger more than once.  
She was waiting patiently for her mom.  
Raquel had promised her she would be back, she wouldn’t break that promise, not to Paula.

  
They made it, they didn't even know how, but there they were outside the bank. 

Their happiness was overshadowed by the feeling of having lost one of their own, but still the emotion of having achieved the impossible could not be contained in any of the members.

But for her this was not a victory, they had not won, they had only passed the last phase.

The air from the incoming helicopter distracted her for a moment.  
Perhaps a miracle had occurred and he was about to get off it, ready to receive her and calm all her fears.  
The helicopter finally landed and his doors opened, she stared at them hoping for the miracle.

It never came, he wasn’t there.

“Marseille!!” Denver screamed when he came out of the helicopter.

“We made it!” Palermo said excitedly.

Marseille smiled at the band but you could sense he wasn’t as happy as everyone else.

“Come on, get in we have to leave” Marseille ordered them.

Everyone got into the helicopter, waiting expectantly for their new instructions.

“Where’s the professor?” Rio asked, noticing the man’s absence.

That did it for her, tears began to stream down her face and her body began trembling.

“What’s happening Lisbon? Is it your leg?” Monica asked her when she noticed her breakdown.

Oh right she has been shot in the leg.

She looked at them with the saddest expression, the pain she was feeling in her leg was nothing compared to the one on her chest. 

“He’s gone”, she whispered under her breath.

“What? Who?” Monica asked worriedly.

“Where’s Sergio?!” Palermo screamed, tying the knots of Lisbon reactions.

“LISBON!” He began to shake her desperately, but the woman didn't respond.

“HE IS DEAD” 

Marseille screamed and everyone stayed still, their faces frozen. It couldn’t be.

“Everything was going wrong, he sacrificed himself so you could get out of the bank” Marseille told them.

“You knew? You fucking knew and you didn’t tell us, we could have stoped him!” Tokyo stood up angry in front of Raquel, tears streaming down her face. 

How could she? 

Her guardian angel was dead. Who was going to help her now, who was going to fix her mistakes, who was going to take care of her.  
She was alone.

“Tokyo leave her alone, there’s nothing we could’ve done” 

Rio told her, grabbing her arm and holding her while she cried.

The rest of the trip was pure silence, no smile made its appearance and the air was filled with a single thought. Their leader was dead, they were alone now.

  
Days passed and everyone left for their new destinations, promising to each other that they will meet again.

Raquel and Marseille were the last ones to leave.

“The professor told me to give you this” He handed her a red envelope with her name on it.

“I gotta leave now, are you sure you’re okay?” He asked her one last time.

“I’ll be”

Dear Raquel.  
I know I lied to you. I told you you wouldn’t lose me and here I am about to break that promise to you.   
I’m a coward for telling you everything through a letter but you know I’ve never been good with words.

I did this for you, I’ve hurt you so much and I dragged you into this world of crime, I couldn’t drag you to this with me, Paula and your mother need you and you deserve to live, you have so much to give to this world.

Berlín used to tell me when he was alive that I wasn’t living, that I needed to find a reason to live. I always ignored him, but believe when I tell you that meeting you made me understand everything he meant.  
You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. You taught me so much and opened my eyes to the real way of living.  
I own you eternally for being the reason of my true happiness.

I would have loved, more than anything, to live the rest of my life with you, but love has a price and I'm not going to let you pay for it.

I’ll wait for you in another life.

Yours truly.  
Sergio.

A month later…

She hates him everyday, hates him for doing this to her, for breaking his promise.   
She hates him for not getting out of her head, for disturbing her sleep and being everywhere, she can’t even look at herself anymore everything reminds her of him.

She’s a mess, she has been since she arrived at Denpasar, it was one of the places on the postcards, her heart broke a bit more when she found out.

God she misses him.

Paula and Marivi were good, it had been so hard explaining to them why Sergio wasn’t there anymore, but after the first days of struggle, they began to settle down to their new life.  
Paula was happy with the new place and she has already made several friends, her mom’s nurse has accompanied them to this new destiny and she was fine, happy.

Raquel wasn’t happy.  
She cried almost every night between his memories and the cold, between the silence and his voice.   
She misses the love of her life.

  
Sergio needed to do it, if he didn’t they wouldn’t make it alive and everything would be in vain.   
He couldn’t risk the chance of losing her, but he knew it would destroy her when she found out about his plan, he was sure she knew what Plan Shakespeare meant.  
It’s just that there wasn’t another option.

They made it. 

He had been so thrilled when Marseille called him to tell him the news.   
His heart broke when he told him about Lisbon and the way she was heartbroken.

He was supposed to be dead, that was the initial plan but something happened and here he was, still alive.  
Well not really, life without her wasn’t life.

He wanted to go immediately to her, but it was too dangerous, he would have risked everything and the possibility of them both being caught was enormous.

So he waited for what felt like an eternity.

A month had passed, the worst month of his life but at last he was now here, his transport had left him at the edge of the beach, near a house. Their house

He immediately saw her, she was sitting in the sand looking at the sunset in front of her. She looked so beautiful and so sad.

34 sunsets without him, she has seen 34 sunsets without him and she was getting tired. 

How many more could she take?

She heard someone approaching her on her left and she panicked, it was unusual for people to be in this part of the island.  
She turned her head to the figure approaching her and immediately recognized him.

It was him.

He looked at her, she answered with a sigh and the universe conspired to reunite them.

Finally.

  
She couldn't believe it, he was here with her.

After connecting again under the stars as they only knew, Sergio discovered her newest additions.  
She has two new scars, one on her elbow from when she slipped from the tree and the gunshot wound on her leg.  
He spent all night kissing both of them, trying to erase from his mind the voice in his head telling him that he was the reason for them.

They needed to talk, he had said unforgivable things to her for which he had to take responsibility, but for now there were only the two of them and the love that flowed from both.

They would have time to talk later. After all they had a whole life together ahead of them.

“I love you” Sergio finally whispered in her ear as they laid together at their new beginning.

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, what do you guys think?
> 
> I put some quotes from songs in spanish, if you find them let me know :)
> 
> The song Raquel and Sergio danced is “No me doy por vencido” by Luis fonsi  
> Here’s the link https://youtu.be/8hRGBcr_gJc
> 
> Oh and the first one is my favorite part from ABBA’s song “Super trouper” I think it describes perfectly their reunion


End file.
